


Tokyo Shinobi

by WitchySkies123



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Kinda yandere, Reincarnation, Shinobi, sakura is a fujoshi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27382225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchySkies123/pseuds/WitchySkies123
Summary: The old generation has gone. Konoha is in the hands of the new. That story is over.Now, Team Seven find themselves reincarnated in the modern world --They live normal lives (mostly), with one twist: Chakra is the stuff of fantasy except it's real and only a secretive society knows about it. A society that will kill to keep it's secrets and now Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke must survive this strange new world.A New Era Begins!-- SakuraXSasuke action/romance, a bit yandere. Modern setting.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter One: “Life is a Bunch of Explosives — You Never Know What Will Break You Down.”

**Chapter One: “Life is a Bunch of Explosives — You Never Know What Will Break You Down.”**

Sakura: “I just wanted to enjoy my yaoi and korean dramas in peace. What happened to me?”  
—Said Every Heroine Ever **“When You Have Super Strength, But Only Use it To Carry Your Yaoi Haul Home The Convention.”**

**Sakura Haruno from previous life: I want to know what happened to me, too. When did I turn into a fujoshi?**

**Sarada: I’m not even in this story after this so I wanna know, too! Why is mom a pervert! GASP. Is that why she didn’t mind Dad spending all his time with Naruto-Hokage-sama?!**

**Naruto and Sasuke: Leave me out of this!!**

**Author: Welcome to the modern age.**  
……………………….

……………………… 

Sakura looked up at her only daughter with her usual smile despite the gaping hole where her heart was. “Sarada, it’s okay. Don’t blame yourself. I’m proud of you. Your father would have said the same.”

“M-Mom! Please don’t leave me. I can heal you! I can —“ Sarada’s red eyes glistened with tears as she tried to use her chakra to heal her mother’s wound, but how could she heal this?! It was only due to her mother’s gift in medical jutsu that she was able to live without a heart for a few seconds more. First her father died with Naruto-Hokage-sama and now her mother! Why? How could the world be so cruel?! Unbeknowest to her, her bloodline picked up on her grief and evolved. Sakura only felt relief at her daughter’s change. Sarada wouldn’t be easy to kill this way.

“It’s time. Go to Boruto and don’t look back. He needs you. Konoha needs you…” Sakura couldn’t maintain her life any longer and her vision began to fade. With her last breath she held Sarada’s trembling hand and whispered, “I love you.”

And that was how the last legendary member of Team Seven ended her life in Konoha.

Once more the circle of life turned, and the old generation gave way to the new, but that wasn’t important. Because now it was a new life awaiting the old generation…

In the distance, the author narrates as the scene of Konoha vanishes and we all emerge in reality — Modern Tokyo to be exact.

This is a story of Team Seven, reborn in the chaos that is the modern 21rst century with one twist — chakra exists, but no one knows about it save a secretive society…

And Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are three disillussioned working adults living normal modern lives until they discovered this strange secretive world. Okay, make that just Sakura and Naruto — Sasuke is already in on the action. Once more, Team Seven will be thrust in a world of fighting and power beyond the capabilities of a normal modern man. 

What is this power and why does it all feel familiar?

The New Era starts now!!

…………………………..

……………………..

……………………….

“Ahhhhh!!!” Sakura screamed as she woke up — With heavy breaths, she flung off her blanket and sat up as she wiped sweat off her face. “Why did I dream I was dying— and why did I have a kid named Salad? Who dreams that they die in their non-existent kid’s arms?!” She looked at the clock: 7:35am. Shit! She was going to be late for work!

Forgetting the dream, she flung herself out of bed, sped into her business skirt and picked up the first unwrinkled blouse from her closet. She barely had time to do her eyebrows before she grabbed some plain bread from the kitchen and rushed out the door of her apartment. “I can’t believe I slept through my alarm again!” She already set five different times for her alarm to go off and it still wasn’t enough. 

She skipped the busy elevator and dashed down the hall. As soon as she got to the stairwell, she simply jumped off the top of the stairs and landed perfectly on her two feet without a wince of pain. Her friends used to call her a cat since she was always able to land on her feet from high places, the highest being a flight of stairs simply because she wasn’t suicidal to test anything higher. It was a useless talent, but the best when you’re in a rush during rush hour.

Grinning, she jumped down the rest of the four flights of stairs and finally reached level one in under a minute. As she burst out of the apartment lobby doors, the security guard whistled from just outside, “Hey, speed! Late again?”

“Don’t jinx me, Kei! By the way, I keep seeing you, but where’s Jeff?”

“Ahh, he’s on vacation. Lucky bastard is in Hawaii.”The fresh-faced college graduate stuck out his tongue.

“What! No way — Oh my god, I’m sooo late. I’ll talk to you later, ‘kay?” Sakura ran down the sidewalk while waving and Kei laughed.

“Don’t get fired!”

“Shut up, Kei!” Ever since she moved to Fukuoka a year ago, Kei had always been kind to her and even helped her move her packages sometimes. He was truly a nice guy. 

Although she fussed over being late, she wasn’t worried about running to the trains on time. Even if she woke up poorly, she always excelled physically compared to her classmates even in college. If she weren’t focused on studies, she’d have joined the judo team or even track team. Like right now, what normally took forty minutes to walk, she managed in twenty. And if she ran, in five. She couldn’t explain it, it was like she always had energy to spare if she was focused right.

As she sped toward the train station, she passed by a strange man dressed in a deep blue collared shirt that looked like it cost a hundred thousand yen. Normally, she didn’t pay men much attention, but even she had to admit that the man had a peculiar attraction. Dark long hair ran down his back and he dressed well for his age, but the most peculiar thing was his gaze. Those dark eyes reminded her of someone, but she knew she’d never met such a person with eyes like those. 

She shook her head as she ran past without looking back. Pretty man or not, she had more pressing concerns than to stare. While he certainly was an attractive man, all it did was pull curiosity out of her. She was never really in love with anybody let alone had crushes so she was surprised by her attraction. Not a romantic attraction, but more like…

“He seems like an older brother type.” Sakura nodded to herself as she kept running. She had been reading a older brother seme yaoi the other day, so maybe that scandalous story was still affecting her IQ. Maybe that was why she had a weird dream. “Damn fantasies ruining my life.” So she said, but she couldn’t help but giggle as she thought back to the story…

Meanwhile, the well-dressed man felt a strange feeling, but when he turned all he saw was a strange lady with pink hair running past. For a moment, she reminded him of Sasuke and he didn’t know why. Then his friend called out from inside the store, “Hey Itachi! I got the goods.”

A very tall, dark-skinned man with bulging muscles and narrow eyes brought out a case full of packaged shuriken. “Specially crafted! It’s hard to find a true craftsman these day, am I right?” He laughed, his razor sharp grin adding to his menacing aura as he lifted the heavy case with one hand. 

“Hn.” Itachi shook his head and soon forgot about the passing woman. Must have been a delusion. “Yes. Let’s go, Kisame.”

“Roger that, Boss!”

“Don’t call me that. Sasuke already acts like a tyrant already, I do not need to be a boss-type as well. The boy will inflate his ego over the clan image again.”

“Your brother is just super fanatic while you’re super serious. I think it runs in the blood, man.” He shrugged. “Reminds me of the college days…”

“Shut up.” Itachi stopped him from saying anything embarrassing and the two headed for Tokyo.

After that, Sakura’s day went by normally. The only trouble she had was with her manager, but the work was easy for her and she liked it that way. Moving here was the best decision she ever made.

As usual, her manager nagged her for being late although she managed to be five minutes early because she should be fifteen minutes early. Then began a series of slight annoyances, but they were petty things and Sakura just let them ago. For example, she finished the reports on time and even the manager tried to scold her for that, too. If she worked too fast, it was impossible and she had to look it over. So she made sure to pace herself, but the manager still had the balls to say that she probably rushed her job and still had to do it over. It was annoying! But compared to other stress in life, it was nothing so she smiled. She started working here because it was a simple job with good enough pay away from Tokyo. 

During lunch, her co-worker Tama liked to talk story with her and gossip about the company. But today, she was surprised as she poked at Sakura’s unblemished skin. “Hey, Sakura. Didn’t you get hit by a bike the other day? How are your bruises healed already?”

“I don’t know. I eat a lot of carrots unlike you, Tama.”

“Why, you!” Tama fake punched her arm while giggling. “Oh, shoot. You’re lucky lunch is almost over or I’ll have to punish you for that comment!”

Sakura laughed. “Bring it on!”

As the work day went on, the clock ticked slowly as Sakura typed and made her calls. She was just a paper-pusher here and there was no urgency, no drive or ambition. It was truly a type of workplace where you settle down…and it was heaven. From the pointless gossip to the laughable pettiness of her manager, all of that was nothing compared to her past troubles. The manager would only utter a few sentences, but couldn’t do much more since she was an efficient worker. If she wanted, she could have aimed to get connected with higher ups, but she didn’t want to play the corporate game. Just this was enough. And when she got home, she could watch a kdrama or read a yaoi and she’d do the day all over again. She was truly happy.

By the time the clock hit 5, she was sad to see the day end. If her old friends ever found out what she did for a living, they’d laugh. The violent teen was now happily working an 8-5 going to cafes on her off days and acting tame. She didn’t care.

Sakura took her time walking to the train station to go home. She even managed to grab an iced coffee and enjoy the sight of children playing in a park she passed by. She waved hi at a cute child with a puppy and the mother bowed towards her. They laughed. It was little moments like these that she secretly dreamed about ever since she was a little girl. The little pieces of happiness that she could never seem to find until she left home. Her old friends would never understand so she never kept in touch much except a few messages. Let sleeping lions sleep.

After quite some time, she got on the train and closed her eyes for a few moments. She loved listening to the train hum as she rode home. When she got off, a warm feeling flooded her heart. It had only been a year since she moved here, but everyday felt like a miracle. She even hummed to herself as she walked from the train station to her apartment. It was a hassle to wake up early everyday, but the rent here was cheap and the area was safe. Despite the work stress, it wasn’t a bad life. Not compared to her childhood. 

The lone twenty-seven year old office woman looked up at the stars and smiled, “I’ve come a long way since those times. I wish this could last forever.”

And so, she made her way to the apartment lobby with a big smile on her face —

Only to have her whole world crashing down. 

“Kei...?”

……………………………

………………………

……………………………

_Earlier on…_

Naruto ducked behind a corner as men dressed in hoodies walked along casually, but kept their eyes scanning the area. It was hard to tell who was part of the group that kidnapped him since everyone was in disguise. But Naruto knew, he could feel it. He couldn’t understand how, but it was like they had more…energy…than a normal person. They mentioned it sometimes when they tortured him. An energy called chakra. And apparently he had way too much of it to be normal. They even called him a fox demon. 

_I’m no demon! They are! This is the 21rst century! How on earth are there so many cults?_ For the past few weeks, his life was a nightmare. Well, a worst nightmare than usual. Some folks calling themselves the Kaguya Clan kidnapped him and the rest was a blur. A very painful blur. 

Naruto gritted his teeth as he managed to hide just out of sight before running for the first apartment he could find. If he stayed in a stairwell or hid on the roof, maybe he could catch a breath. The alleys weren’t safe. There were too many patrolling. He managed to rush into the apartment lobby only to be stopped by a security guard who looked like he was in his early twenties. He looked like a fresh-faced young man who looked nice and Naruto felt a sense of relief. Maybe he could help! 

“Sorry, but I need help! I was kidnapped and —“ Naruto’s words paused. The security guard simply stood there with a calm smile and his instincts blared. “Shit.”

“Shit indeed. You are an interesting specimen. Letting you out had some merits. You managed to evade us for several miles so this experiment is a success. Now, let’s go back home, fox demon.” The security guard’s young, cheerful face morphed into something chilling. With frigid eyes that looked like they wanted to examine his organs, the young guard took out a knife. “This is our territory. You’re out of chakra, you have no other skills and you’re not even that smart based off our reports. Even if you run now, it’s only a matter of time until we catch you. The law won’t save you from us. You can’t escape.”

Naruto lost all feeling in his legs as his energy simply ran out. He had been running all day after using most of his power escaping from the strange prison. He barely knew what day it was let alone why he was kidnapped, but none of this had to be legal so why had no one noticed his disappearance even at work? To make matters worse, he was an orphan with no relatives and despite being twenty seven, he didn’t even have a girlfriend or friends in general. He mostly kept to himself since his parents’ car accident. Now, he was being treated as a human experiment. His whole life has been nothing but tragedies. He simply…didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. “I don’t get you people and this chakra thing, but I won’t let you capture me! I will take you down with me if it’s the last thing I do!” He truly had no more energy, but if he could grab that knife…

“Very well, Kitsune Spawn.” Right before the guard was about to launch his attack, the door swung open and a shocked woman entered. “Kei…? Why are you holding a knife?”

Kei quickly changed his facial expression and said, “Ah, Sakura-chan! Sorry, he’s a wanted criminal. He was all over the news lately so I’m capturing him.”

The woman furrowed her brow, “Kei. I heard no such thing on the news. And you don’t need a knife to capture an unarmed man. If you need help, I can call the police and —“

“I’m sorry. I can’t let you do that, Sakura.” Kei’s smile fell and he clenched his knife in his grasp.

Sakura noticed the change in atmosphere immediately and took a step back. “Kei, you can’t be serious. What’s really going on here?”

Kei sighed. “I really liked you, you know? But my hands are tied here. No outsiders must learn of this fox demon and you calling the police will lead to an investigation. It wouldn’t really hurt us, but it is a pain so it’s best if I dispose of you in case. But first…”

Naruto butted in as he yelled towards Sakura, “Run! These guys kidnapped me from my house and experimented on me for some cult. RUN LADY!!” Naruto tackled Kei from behind with the last of his strength. Kei dropped his knife and grabbed Naruto’s neck instead. With inhuman strength, he lifted him from the ground. 

Naruto choked and he struggled to break his grasp, but still his eyes went towards the innocent woman. “R—Run — Gh!” His legs kicked wildly as he tried to tear off Kei’s grip around his throat, but it was no use. The man’s strength was too strong!

Kei laughed. “C’mon. Knock out already or maybe I should just kill you completely? I have to deal with my dear friend next.” He glanced at Sakura with cold eyes. “I’ve always wondered how your skin felt.”

Sakura shivered. She had no idea why the cheerful Kei would suddenly try to kill a man and threatened to kill her as well, but he was clearly up to no good. It like her the past year was nothing but a dream. Kei, the guard who always asked about her day and seemed like a friend was truly a monster in disguise even fooling her. And she’s seen plenty of monsters. This was both a shock and a slap to her face at her foolishness. Her entire body shook as she took in the sight of Kei strangling the beat up blonde man with one hand. 

Her mind whirled fast. A complete stranger was trying to tell her to run over saving his own life. Kei was an imposter. End result: A true criminal wouldn’t wish to save her life. And in that moment, she made a decision that would change the course of her normal life forever.

Her body reacted before her mind could powered by an innate rage that channeled out of body like a raging tidal wave. A familiar feeling surged around her as she raised her fist and began to ran…One second, she was near the entrance of the lobby, the next second she found herself right behind Kei’s back. He only had time to look at her with shock before she poured all her energy into her fist and punched Kei to the ground. With a loud boom, Kei crashed to the ground, releasing the Naruto, and the entire tiled floor cracked. And for a brief sadistic moment, she felt a thrill hearing the crack in his skull as he hit the ground. Her bloodlust satisfied, the energy disappeared as fast as it came and that was when reality hit. Blood spilled down from Kei’s head. She quickly looked behind her and no one was on the street. It was the benefit of living in a quiet neighborhood, but still very lucky. 

Shocked, she looked down at her hands, trembling. “Oh god, what…how…” She checked Kei’s pulse — none. What the fuck could she do now? Run? Where? She couldn’t run like this, she’d be a prime suspect. The apartment was old so she could just take away the footage, but what about the body and — and — and — Sakura groaned and she wanted to cry, but there was no time for that. Quickly she turned toward Naruto and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yes — “ Naruto gazed at the pink-haired lady in surprise before he dropped to his knees. Kei’s attack hit him bad. Not only that, he truly used up all the energy he had just now. It was a simple tackle, but he’d been running all day and fighting for his life. He couldn’t hold on for much longer. His vision grew blurry and he was losing consciousness fast. 

Sakura cried out, “W-We sh-should call the police. Report…the cameras would…” 

Naruto could barely make out her words, but he stopped her. “No cops. I already tried that. The local cops are in their hands and the only reason he didn’t want you to call them was because it was a hassle to deal with. Look at me, I wasn’t even reported missing. Is that normal? My job should have noticed. But you don’t want to go where they send you, trust me. It’s a prison. We need to escape. If you won’t kill him, then forget him. Your punch should make sure he’s out cold for days maybe months. But we need to go away from here — the others will show up very soon. There’s only one guard?” 

“No, but Jeff’s on vacation so he’s doing single shift. Kei was only covering for him. Oh god, why, Kei, why?” Sakura didn’t know what to do. She just attacked Kei and now a stranger was barely breathing on the ground. If what the blonde man said was true, then now what? What could she do if she couldn’t call the police?! It sounded like there was a lot of them! For the first time in years, she began to panic. She just found a new life for herself and now this sort of trouble was at her doorstep. Fuck. At the very least, she should panic out of sight. Suddenly, she had an idea, but she didn’t like it. It would only work because the security was lax in old apartments like these. 

Due to her chatting with the guards everyday, she learned a few things especially when she questioned how safe they would keep her. She liked to know how her home was protected by reflex — from camera systems to guards and police reaction time. She never thought she’d use the info like this however. The camera system was all connected to one and they hadn’t upgraded in years, but it wasn’t stored by individual camera hard drives and merely stored on one computer in the security room. Even so, she grabbed Kei’s knife without laying her fingerprints on the handle. Holding the handle inbetween fingers, she aimed and flung the knife directly at the camera and the glass cracked. Nobody would believe a single woman could launch a knife through glass and metal, but reality was stranger than fiction. She eyed the camera from below and didn’t see anything that looked like it could hold a ssd card or any other hard drive. Finally she sighed out in relief. 

Resolving herself, she said, “I’ll take you to my place and deal with the cameras, but…we need to think about the future.” She took in deep breaths before she dragged Kei effortlessly into the stairwell and closed the door before walking over to Naruto. She didn’t have time to deal with blood or the demolished floor, but thankfully nobody came down yet. She had to hurry. 

Naruto was surprised at her strength, but then again he did see her destroy the entire floor. So he nodded, but then his head throbbed and pain shot up. He reached out for her hand and with trembling lips asked, “Please…” From the day his parents died, he trusted nothing and no one. Life was cruel toward the caring and so he made sure to only rely on himself. This way, it won’t hurt so much to lose someone close to him again. But now he couldn’t hold on anymore. He was at his wit’s end. Grasping at his last chance of survival, he looked up into the strong woman’s clear emerald eyes and begged, “Please…help me…”

And he fainted.

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**AUTHOR NOTE:**

This is another story on top of all my other ones. Dear god. Kind of like, instead of hearing Hagrid go “you’re a wizard harry” this here is about chakra. I mean, if a slug can heal your broken leg, then it might as well be magic, just saying. In this story, their unconscious remembers how to use chakra, but it’s very vague. An instinct. For now. Also rare so they’re like high potential shinobi status.

Since I have a lot of projects going on outside of fanfic, I won’t be able to update THIS STORY as often as I can until later next year so until then, I’ll post something occassionally for this story (because I want to finish the other stories first). But the idea has been here a while, so why not post? Figure I’d gauge interest and I feel like writing angsty sasusaku stuff, but to get to that sweet sadistic pleasure, Sakura needs to know he exists LOL. I’d still write this regardless because it’s in my head tho so no worries either way.

Unlike a lot of my other works, this one is a SakuSasu only but ooc and more badass. I thought about the team keeping their memories, but since Sakura already married Sasuke by the time she died, it’d be boring to just see the two get together. Like, “Ugh. Let’s just get married again for my baby to exist.” “Hn. Sure. I’ll see you once a week, that cool? Don’t worry, I got your child support ready.” JK! Or am I? I still prefer Itachi, but Sasuke brings out my toxic angst side so there’s that.

WELP! See you once in a blue moon like Sasuke. I’ll be working on the other works more regularly compared to this, but if you like this story, please review and give me Kakashi’s phone number. He’s single in this story hehehe :3

Loves and Kisses,

WitchySkies

P.S. Strictly a SakuSasu in this one because I like to see love suffer sometimes (it’s not a tragedy no worries). Also, prob need a therapist.

P.S.S. You know, maybe I’m too harsh on Sasuke. I’d appreciate an independent husband who is busy with work since I’ll be, too. But then again, I can get that with Itachi as well…good thing this aint a readerXuchiha romance fic or I’d be sailing another ship hahaha


	2. Chapter Two: “Running Away In Secret Is A Pain When You Have To Pay Rent”

**Chapter Two: “Running Away In Secret Is A Pain When You Have To Pay Rent”**

Sakura: “I only moved away for a year and find trouble at my doorstep. Is this the curse of pink hair?”  
—On Why Sakura Can Only Attract Trouble **“Maybe I should have done overtime at work after all…”**

**Naruto: No! I want to live! Don’t deny your destiny!**

**Meanwhile Itachi in Tokyo: *Sneeze!* Why do I have a bad feeling?**

**Bastard Kei: So much for becoming a main villain. I only got punched once!**

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………………………………

“First things first.” Sakura quickly assessed the situation — she had an unconscious man on the run, a knocked out security guard she dumped in the stairwell, a demolished floor and red stains of blood. It was only by heaven’s will that nobody came through the lobby yet. There was only a single door in and it had no window. Tenants had to enter by a key. The lobby was small and there was no reception, just elevators. Basically just a typical run down apartment with bad security. The security office was on the second floor. If she carried the blonde guy up the stairs, it was still safer than getting caught at the elevators with the suspicious man and she could stop by the second floor office on the way. Thankfully, she had the strength to pull it off. “Okay! Let’s do this!”

Quickly, she got a napkin out of her purse and wiped up the little traces of blood from where Kei hit his head. There was a faint smear, so she grabbed the small water bottle she bought on her way home and used it wet the napkin and the smear came off. That settled, she quickly put the napkin in her pocket to dispose of later. 

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Sakura lifted Naruto onto her back and darted into the stairwell. Leaning down to steal Kei’s badge and keys, she paused. If she just got rid of him now, nobody would hunt her down after this. For a cold second, she wanted to stab him as he was going to stab her, but she shook her head. She was not a murderer! With a bit of regret, she left Kei’s body hidden under the stairs then ran up to the second floor with bursts of energy concentrated at the soles of her feet. When she focused just right, she found she could propel herself faster than normal. 

Luckily, nobody saw her enter the stairwell, but then luck ran out. A scream sounded from below as a female voice echoed from the lobby through to the empty stairwell, “What happened to the floor?! It’s like an earthquake came and went!” Sakura hurried her pace as she jumped up the steps in long strides.

On the second floor, cold sweat dripped down the back of her neck as she peeked out the door. Clear. The security room was only a few doors down from the elevators. Thoughts raced through her mind as she imagined at the possible reactions of the surprised resident downstairs. Most likely, she would contact the manager unless she looked into the stairwell hard, which she doubted. The police would only be called if the manager couldn’t deal with it as no one wanted to deal with the hassle — she knew that from experience when one time somebody punched a hole in the wall. Sure, the floor was looking like cracked rock, but it didn’t look like a murder scene. Luckily the manager was always lazy and barely answered his phone so whoever screamed would have to find him on the 7th floor and pound on his door before he bothered to come out. Which meant she had a few minutes to get to the security room on the second floor and destroy the evidence. 

The office lady’s hands shook as she thought about what she was about to do. Sure, when she was wild and young, she broke into rooftops or the teacher’s lounge. Hell, she even messed with security tapes when she almost got caught sneaking into a donut shop to grab a bite for a stupid dare. But she never imagined she would have to destroy evidence like she was hiding a murder. Kei was the one who pulled a knife on her first, but if anyone saw what was on that tape…Forget the cult or whatever Kei was in, even local police would question her strength or worse.

 _Breathe in. Breathe out. You’ve done this before._ She peeked at the man on her back and bit her lip. Why was she going so far to help him? He was nothing but trouble and he was being chased! Then she remembered the way he still tried to save her life even while he was being strangled and she couldn’t ignore his cry for help. 

With renewed determination, Sakura gently put the man against the wall and whispered, “I’ll be back.” He couldn’t hear her, but she just felt like she had to let him know her choice. There was no going back. And besides, once Kei woke up, he would hunt her down so it was too late to back down. Without proof, he couldn’t arrest her, not if he wanted to keep his secrets. 

She checked the hallway again then sprinted to the security room a few doors around the corner. Jabbing Kei’s keys in one by one in quick succession, the door finally unlocked and she stepped inside and turned on the light. As predicted, the poor funding meant there was only a few monitors and she quickly figured out the system. No cloud storage, just DVD. On the wall, there were piles of dusty VHS tapes as well. Sakura’s lips pulled back, “Jeez. How old was their system? I guess I should be grateful the owners are stingy bastards.” 

She messed around with the computer until she found where she could clear the data for the past few hours and when the password came up, Sakura instantly found the post-it note with the password in an old notebook to the side. She laughed as she finished the job and took out the DVD backup. Holding on to the DVD just in case she needed proof, she rolled her eyes. For some strong cult/clan member whatever, he really looked down on his job. There wasn’t a day when he wouldn’t complain about his dead end job and sure enough, he truly didn’t take it seriously. Then again, with his attitude, he probably never imagined there would be anyone to threaten him. Even she had to admit that for all his cockiness, Kei was strong enough to lift a man up with only an arm.

Sakura then thought about her next steps and with a quick investigation, figured out how to turn off the cameras. One by one, she watched the screens go black and she left for the stairwell right away. No longer fearing the cameras, she lifted the man on to her back and hurried to her apartment.

As soon as she shut her door, she quickly took off the man’s torn off shirt and replaced it with a large T-shirt she liked to wear casually. She checked his pockets — he had nothing. No wallet, no ID. Made sense since he was on the run. Laying him down on her bed, she paced around the room before making up her mind.

“Shit. It was times like these that I wished I had a car.” Sakura quickly started packing a backpack in case she had to run, although she doubted she’d need to tonight. If she predicted right, the manager would report the damage to the police after being pushed out the door. Some classy people liked to make out in the stairwell after a night out or if they lived on the first floor, they would rather walk up. So it was only a matter of time until someone noticed Kei. When that happened, they would only be forced to put him in an ambulance and try to investigate the ground floor before they would need to let people pass by as it was the only way in and out of the apartment. There was no reason to question all of the upper floors and they didn’t have the manpower to do so for dozens and dozens of apartments. 

On top of that, there was be no reason to enter any apartment without reason and she made sure when she dragged Kei to under the stairs that she only held him by her arms without leaving her fingerprints. She didn’t know how detailed the police were compared to the crime shows she watched on TV, but it didn’t hurt to be paranoid. As for finding her pink hair on the ground, since many passed by the lobby, it wasn’t strange to find hairs all over so her unique pink hair wouldn’t be conclusive evidence either if some spilled. When was there not hair on the ground in the main lobby?

The hard part will be the future. Sakura finished stuffing a few sets of clothes in her bag as well as her few important documents like her birth certificate and a few snacks with a bottle of water. She looked reluctantly at her simple apartment with it’s minimal furniture and small collection of yaoi and korean dramas. She’d have to come back when it was safe to clear the place out — or simply just toss the key to the owner and donate her stuff to the neighbors actually. She didn’t want to stay in Kei’s territory if she could help it. 

Sakura wasn’t sure if it was a cult or gang behind the blonde man’s kidnapping, but there had to be a large group or the man wouldn’t have run into an apartment for refuge instead of hide in an alley or something. There was only one reason one would leave an obvious hiding place — when it’s not really worth hiding in. And since he looked like he ran a long time, it meant he was extremely desperate to choose her old apartment as a place to hide. How he got in was up to debate, but if Kei planned to welcome him, the door could have been left open for him. Maybe they wanted to bait him like a mouse to a trap and she ruined it all. 

No. Staying in Fukuoka was too risky. She sighed as she dropped onto her couch, “Sorry job. I’m going to have to say goodbye to my peaceful life.” Quickly changing out of her work clothes, she put on simple sweats and a T-shirt.

She didn’t dare to sleep that night until she heard the ambulance from below and after a couple hours passed, she finally relaxed. Soon, she had to deal with the reality of what she’d done and the future she had to claim. 

She would need to leave Fukuoka. Of course, leaving right after Kei’s incident would raise suspicion, but she couldn’t stay. She’d have to move and pay the extra month’s rent and act like she’s moving out ‘suddenly.’ She didn’t have any ties except that Kei liked to talk to her as the friendly guard, but that wasn’t enough to raise suspicion. It wasn’t like she was one of those guys who she was pretty sure got high with the hard stuff and ran a business doing so or why else would she see them linger near the alley behind the apartment when she got home late? Those guys always had some issue with everybody according to the gossip she’d hear from her neighbors when they happened to pass by and chat.

Suddenly, a naughty idea came and Sakura smiled as exhaustion filled her. “It can wait until tomorrow…”

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The next morning, Sakura woke up with a strange feeling. Last night felt like a blur. 

Then clear blue eyes popped in front of her face as a strange man cheered, “Good morning! I made breakfast!” He said with a cheeky grin.

“Ahhhh!” Sakura screamed as she fell off her couch. “Who are you?!” Her heart sped as she slowly remembered who he was, but she played stupid.

The blonde man jumped back and apologized, “S-Sorry! I’m Naruto. You saved my life, remember? I’m super grateful by the way!” He pointed toward the small table in her living room like a naughty child. “Here! I made you ramen!”

Sakura stared at the grown man acting like a kid and then at the cup ramen he placed on the table. “This is breakfast?”

Naruto coughed and scratched his cheek. “I hadn’t had a decent meal since I got kidnapped and when I saw you had my favorite ramen, I kind of went overboard…” Then Sakura noticed half her ramen supply was missing.

“…” Sakura raised a brow. How on earth did he stuff 6 bowls in a single morning?

“Look I can explain!” Naruto waved his hands wildly as he tried to say that he loved ramen with a passion and couldn’t resist, but Sakura held up a hand.

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t be able to take it after today. You know what we have to do, right? We can’t stay here and I need you to tell me what you know. Now.” Sakura rubbed her temple and sat up straight. “But first, what time is it on my phone?”

Naruto looked at the cell on the charger. “It’s 8:03am.”

“Good. We’ll leave in an hour. Now talk.” Since she didn’t know him well, she had to be firm now to establish the relationship or who knew what hassle would come out of this. At least he wasn’t the type to leave her to her death and run off. “Please.”

Naruto sat on his knees and nodded. “Of course. Where do I begin…Ah.” He straightened his back and held her gaze seriously. “It all started when I went off to the bar after making a huge mistake at work. Somehow I got into a fight when this man started harassing these college girls and then…everything went red.”

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_A few weeks earlier…_

Naruto stared down the slender man groping the hapless women. “Leave them alone.”

Slowly turning his head toward him, the man sneered and took out a knife. “Ha? What are you going to do about it, bitch?” He twirled the knife between his fingers. 

Naruto frowned and studied his stance. The man was a jerk, but was no stranger to fights. That was…perfect. So he said with a smile, “I don’t know, you look like you’re here to get some clients? Was I intruding?” He cracked his knuckles.

“This bitch!” He charged at Naruto and the women behind him screamed as they ran away. 

Naruto dodged and used his forearm to divert his punch from his other fist. Then, with smooth movements, he retrieved the knife and threw it to the ground. One, two, three. Done. With a smirk, he said, “You were saying?”

“Shit! You better watch yourself!” The man ran away and Naruto laughed. Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all. Then he ordered a cup of sake and sighed into his drink. Getting into fights and watching TV were his only entertainment ever since his parents’ died. Even though he was 27, he hadn’t changed. No wonder his boss called him immature.

Drink after drink, he shot back until he could forget his misery and stumbled out of the small bar. The moon was out and the crowds were dying out the longer he walked.

When he was half-way home, that was when they attacked. A group of men surrounded the lone salary man with the punk in front screaming, “This is him!” Then they came in for the attack. As they beat him up, a burning energy flooded him and the familiar fire gave him strength as he found the energy to fight back.

After that, all went red and the next thing he knew he was tossed to the ground, with a foot on his neck pressing down. “Gh!” Naruto could barely keep his head on straight as he tried to get his bearings, but it was like something invisible was tying him down!

Suddenly, the leader stepped forward. A man in his late thirties with strange tattoos said, “Oh? This one has demonic chakra. Your ineptitude brought the Kaguya Clan a rare treasure. Good work.”

The bastard smiled, “Thank you, Sir!” Then he kicked his head and Naruto blacked out.

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“…After that, I woke up in a dark room and strapped to a hospital bed. They…” His voice caught in his throat, but he continued, “They tortured me. Not only with tools, but they even messed with my mind. I don’t know how, maybe drugs, but I saw terrible visions and so much blood…Then one day, I felt my burning energy come back to me and a strange power flood my veins. Everything turned red and the straps burned away. I barely escaped when I attacked the guard. I ran for miles, but they were everywhere. I can’t explain it, but the closer I got, the more I could sense people with higher energy. I couldn’t stay in the alleys. So when I found your apartment, I was desperate and the security guard didn’t have any trace of that…chakra they called it…but I was wrong. I’m not sure how, but he escaped my notice. And the rest is history.”

Sakura thought about the night before. How she felt that energy, but Kei never noticed. “I think…it can be hidden. Our chakra. Like a signal? He never suspected me either, but I also had that same experience with energy flowing and you saw my strength. You only got noticed when you got drunk. Maybe, we subconsciously hide our signatures of chakra? I don’t understand but it’s like…like…” She didn’t know how to express the feeling.

Naruto finished for her, “Like your body knew what to do automatically? Like someone was guiding your hand?”

Sakura stared wide-eyed at Naruto. “Yes. You understand me exactly. Nobody I’ve told this to could understand. They thought I was trying to pretend to be cool.”

“Then we are the same.” Naruto fell silent and looked at the door. “Maybe it’s fate.”

“…” Sakura looked at the door as well. “You don’t have a home and we’re both on the run once Kei wakes up if he ever does. Why don’t you come with me? I only assumed you would, but now…Do you want to?”

Naruto blinked in surprise. “Yes! Of course! That’s a given.” Then he bowed deeply. “You saved me life. Thank you —“

“Sakura. My name is Sakura Haruno.”

He lifted his head, “Thank you Sakura. I am Naruto Uzumaki. I owe you my life.”

“Then we’re roommates. You mentioned the Kaguya Clan…Hold up.” She pulled up her phone and googled, but only found ancient history references about them being a ninja clan. Chakra was an energy they practiced with, but it was deemed more spiritual than literal. There was nothing recent and the references were vague and only told that their base was in Fukuoka area. 

“Well if there’s a Kaguya Clan, there must be more and they each most hold their own territory. I imagine such violent people have many enemies so we need to go somewhere nobody could control completely, a place where many clans clash if these ninja clans exist on such a scale. And there is one place where everyone has a piece of the pie…”

Naruto spoke up, “Tokyo!”

“Exactly. Come on, I got a plan. We’re headed for Tokyo.”

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**AUTHOR NOTE:**

Sup?

Happened to have a couple of chaps already drafted out so posting. Shortly after this, gonna update other works!

Can’t sleep for many good reasons. As always, please review and have a cup of tea!

Ok. Have a good night everyone and dream of all your ramen being eaten by Naruto :3

Ciao,

WitchySkies


	3. Chapter Three: “Tokyo: Here We Go!!!”

**Chapter Three: “Tokyo: Here We Go!!!”**

Sakura: “I knew Tokyo had everything, but a secret gang war of shinobi was the last thing on my mind.”  
—Coming back home, but nothing’s the same **“I thought I left my fighting days behind in high school.”**

**Naruto: You don’t seem like the fighting type, office lady. But then, you did destroy the floor…**

**Sakura: It’s been years since I knocked a guy out. I don’t think anyone will remember me much. I’m pretty much a loner these days so we can lay low.**

**Naruto: You adapt way too fast to almost getting killed. You sure you’re human? Maybe you were a samurai in your last life!**

**Sakura: Says the guy who got told he was a demon. And we are in a shinobi tale, why the fuck would you think of samurai?**

**Naruto: Samurai get cool swords like Gintama…**

**Sakura: The only good sword he has is down under.**

**Naruto: Hey! Fujoshi! Keep your BL away from my brother from another mother!**

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Sakura didn’t even break a sweat as she lifted the third box down to the car in fast speed and passed it to Naruto who was wearing one of her extra-large hoodies. “Here. The last one. So much for packing a backpack. It’s a shame to leave my TV behind, but essentials it is.” Within the last hour, she found a car rental place a block away, ran down there and rented the first cheap car she saw. “I prefer trains, but bruised-up, blonde men are hard to hide.”

Naruto grunted as he closed the trunk. He stretched out his very large black hoodie. “You wear a lot of over-sized clothes, ya know.”

“Hey! It’s comfy! You should be lucky I’m not dressing you up as a woman and forcing you in my cosplay wigs. Good thing a bunch of teens are acting like they are humanity’s secret saviors and wearing black these days…So you look the part.”

Instantly, he bowed deeply and said, “I am eternally grateful.” Then he seemed to get the joke and pouted. “Wait! I’m not like that! I am a mature grown man with a job. Not acting like Light or some kid in an isekai.”

“Haha. Now get in. It’s only 10:30am, but I’d rather be out before your friends start hovering and block us in. We got incredibly lucky last night not getting caught. But knowing Kei’s attitude, if he did plan on you walking into his trap, then he’d think he was all that was needed to capture you. Thank god for cocky idiots.”

“Amen.” Naruto joked. Then he frowned. “I know I brought this trouble to you and I am sorry. If you want to escape by yourself somewhere quiet, I’m sure I can figure some—“

“Please shut up. We’re in this together now. Even if Kei is knocked out forever, it doesn’t change the fact that we both have access to this force magic called chakra and once I help someone, I don’t back out! Now get in so we can leave.”

“Yes!” Naruto’s blue eyes teared up as he sniffled. “Thank you, Sakura-chan.” He quickly got in the car.

Sakura shook her head as she got in the driver’s seat and thought over her plans. She didn’t want to be connected to Kei’s case if possible, so she won’t formally move out until a few weeks later. Then she’d have to return the keys and so on to the landlord using her mother’s sickness as an excuse. She even made sure to have Naruto wait near the car while she quickly packed essentials and when her neighbor caught her taking boxes down, she only had to make up a story. Mentioning a sick mother in the retirement home and hearing about an emergency was all it took to get her neighbor to be sympathetic. Within days, the gossip network will know…Which would’ve been suspicious to the police, but there was another card to play…

Sakura snickered to herself as she put the car in drive. 

Naruto asked, “What’s up?”

“Oh, another cover story. I put Kei’s badge and some blood napkins I used to wipe his blood with in the apartment’s local drug dealer’s room. They’ll be first suspects and I even added a few more touches so they see a trail to their door. Lovely, no? NCIS make way! A new investigator is in town!”

“You’re really scary. Just to let you know.” Naruto gulped and lowered the hoodie tighter over his head. “I’m glad you’re on the same side.”

“You’re welcome.” She picked a small white car, but nothing had dark-tinted windows in her price range so she made Naruto wear a wig under his hoodie anyway. This way it looked like his bangs were brown. “Now act like a moody teenager who wears hoodies in the daytime. Hopefully no one pays attention to us on the drive.” To hide anything noticeable about them, she made sure to tie up her pink hair and wear another black wig she had. “Thank god I picked up cosplay as a hobby.”

“Speaking of which, I know you said you only packed essentials in the boxes, but what’s with the last box?”

“Essential.”

“But —“

“Essential.” Sakura’s voice lowered and Naruto shut up. 

“G-Gotcha, boss!” 

Sakura grinned. She packed clothes, some food, important documents and so on. But in the last box…was her favorite cosplay outfits and yaoi and drama CD’s. Unfortunately, she couldn’t fit more and didn’t want to make 5 trips to bring down her entire collection, so she had to sacrifice quite a few treasures. God damn Kei making her go on the run. Maybe she should have killed him after all.

Whatever. She could always buy more in Tokyo. 

Sakura turned out of the underground parking lot and quickly scanned the main street area. Although she tried hard to see if she could notice anything different among the pedestrians, she couldn’t sense anything much. “Hey, without doing anything extra, can you see if you sense this chakra thing? To see whose nearby. Don’t overdo it in case they notice.”

“Right.” Naruto did as told, but after five minutes…”I sensed a couple around the corner, but there aren’t as much as last night. Maybe everyone’s at their day jobs?” He didn’t know if shinobi made any money in the modern world. Maybe they do fight clubs?

“That or some are really good at hiding. As long as no one follows us, we’re good. Thanks.”

Without acting up or showing fear, she calmly drove following the speed limit and soon after finally made it out of Fukuoka in one piece. “Phew. Any changes?”

“Nope! Nobody that I could sense followed us.”

“Good. It seems that they don’t expect you to have help. Which makes sense if they did a background check and learned you were a loner.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“I’m kinda the same. Don’t worry, you got me now.” Sakura smiled.

“…!” Naruto stared at her bright face under the sun, her blazing green eyes and open nature and just cried. “Sakura…!!” He wailed. For the first time in his life, he felt not alone. In fact, it was weird. He felt like he knew her for a long time even though they just met. How strange…This feeling…This must be…Be… ”This must be the feeling of kindred spirit! Loners think alike!”

“Now we sound pathetic!” Sakura frowned, but laughed. “Let’s just call it destiny. Now, are you clear on the plan in Tokyo?”

“Yes. I’ll be a bum on your couch while you work. You can call me housedad —“

“I’ll kill you now.”

“Kidding! I’ll keep a low profile while you rent an airbnb and we try to find out clues to shinobi territory around Tokyo before picking a place. Anything away from the Kagura Clan ideally. Far, far away. But do we even know any shinobi clan names? I only watched Dragonball Z and One Piece.” Naruto scratched his head. “This sounds hard.”

“Hey, I suck at history, too! But we gotta try to find hints. If we can’t escape them as civilians, we must get stronger to protect ourselves. Even if I’m not outed as an accomplice, they won’t stop chasing after you if you’re a prized demon or whatever.”

“What about asking a dojo?”

Sakura snorted. “How old are you? You want me to go to a judo dojo and ask if there’s a secret fight club for people with chakra? Might as well turn ourselves in and notify Kei!”

“Ok, I get it. Sheesh, so feisty. Do you have an idea of where to start?”

“Of course. Us.” Sakura glanced at him then back on the road. “We have chakra in our bodies and we can weild it to great force. You saw what I did. There’s got to be a clue in our family histories. Luckily for me, my mother is alive even though we aren’t on good terms at all. And…You said you were an orphan, so we can look at your history later. There has to be a clue in our pasts.”

Naruto nodded. “I agree. But where’s your mom?”

“A retirement home on the outskirts of Tokyo. My dad’s insurance covers her bills so I don’t have that burden.”

“…Burden? Sorry, I don’t mean to pry.” 

“Let’s just say, there’s a reason I am used to getting hit.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not a big deal. I am grateful for it now since it helped me not get shocked when Kei attacked. I always learned a few useful skills along the way.” Sakura smiled big. “See? Gratitude is progress. There is always a silver lining and good lessons come out of dark times.” Like she was reciting motivational speeches, she spoke. 

“Still…” Naruto whispered, “You don’t have to force yourself around me. It’s okay you don’t like her. I may have lost my parents, but I loved them as they loved me. It is unfortunate what happened to you whatever it is, but know I am glad you’re here.”

“…” Sakura’s hands clenched the wheel as the smile slowly slid off her face. “…I’m glad you understand.”

“Will you be okay? Visiting…”

“Of course. She isn’t that old, but you see. I was unplanned. She was insane. And I don’t know what happened exactly, but one night I came home…she aged a lot and my father was but a husk on the ground. So please.” Sakura’s tears fell unconsciously as she was forced to remember those times. Those times she wanted to leave in Tokyo. “Don’t feel sorry for dragging me into this Kei business. I feel like this shinobi business was something I was running from for a long time. It must be fate.”

One year ago, she left Tokyo. Left everybody. As they drove, Sakura recalled how the man opened up about his past and if they were to work together, she couldn’t hide everything. So she began her story while Naruto listened in silence. “I only moved to Fukuoka for a year. A year ago, I was miserable, but it was bearable and I lived on my own. Then it all changed and I was too late. By the time I found my parents, my mother was already senile and father dead. Nobody could find the cause. It was like a life force was sapped from them. It couldn’t be explained by science and my mother was too out of it to tell. She was abusive and yelling before, but now she just talks gibberish. Still, on a rare occassion, she seemed to have her mind together. If I could get my mother to explain what happened that night, maybe there’d be a clue to how we have chakra and others don’t. Maybe our family has secret ways of honing this power hidden away. So that’s where we’ll head first.”

At first, Naruto didn’t know what to say, but then he nodded solemnly. “That is a good plan. You’ve fought hard.” He reached out to grasp her shoulder reassuredly. “We’ll find the truth, Sakura. This can’t all be a coincidence. Together, we’ll figure this out. Believe it.”

Sakura gulped back more tears that she didn’t know she still had. Even though she kept her eyes on the road, it was like a dam broke and all her repressed feelings erupted out of her. Everything she held back when she ran away, came back with a vengeance. It was a long drive until she smiled. “…Believe it.”

Past issues aside, this was about survival. As long as she thought of it like that, she could face her mother. Everyone in life had pain and everything was about survival. 

She didn’t need love to survive. But now she had one true friend. A man she just met who felt as familiar as if he’d been her brother. A man who almost died to try to save her. 

There really was some good in the darkness after all. And so the two reflected in silence as the forests and highways past by. Hours later, after driving non-stop, the duo finally reach Tokyo. 

Sakura drove up to a quiet neighborhood and on top of the hill was a small retirement home. She parked outside and faced Naruto. “We only have the car for a few days and then I have to drop it off at a lot somewhere here. So I’ll go talk with my mother now and save a trip. Will you be okay or do you want to come in?”

“You work fast.” Naruto scanned the area, but he couldn’t sense anyone with unusual energy like last night. “I should be fine here.” He also didn’t know how to face her mother after the story she told him. No. It was best he didn’t see that woman’s face. “I’m here whenever you need me.” He smiled big and cheerful and Sakura smiled back.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon.” 

After Sakura left, his smile fell and he had to hold his arms down as they trembled. Taking deep breaths, he forced himself to cool down or he might give away their location with energy spikes or something. Breathe in…out…in….

It was strange, why did he feel this angry? He was not new to tragedy, but this depth of rage was new. It was as if his sister were attacked and he was helpless. Where did this strong sense of trust come from? Sure she saved him and he was grateful, but this feeling was way more intense than gratitude or loyalty. It wasn’t romantic either.

He looked curiously at the door of the retirement home Sakura gone through. “Whatever this feeling is, I can’t ignore it. I need to control this chakra thing. It’s the only thing protecting us.” He recalled the way she fought and her super strength and the way she knocked out Kei. 

She protected him. He owed her his life. That was all he needed to know to want to protect her. “Maybe there is some good in the bad like she said.”

For the first time in is life, Naruto Uzumaki, an office drone stolen from his home living a life between bars, felt he had a purpose.

“I’ll become stronger.”

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**AUTHOR NOTE:**

Yo. So now Sakura needs to try get clues out of her mom who, even while sane, hates her. Will this be a wasted trip?

Anyway, this draft was mostly done so posting now. It’ll be a couple weeks or so until I can get to another random chap fyi. And I hope to get Sasuke in the meet ups soon lolol maybe then or later haha

I hope you enjoy this story and happy holidays. Stay safe. Eat well. Love good families or friends or if nothing else, good fanfic :P

Please review and let me know if you like how the story flows. 

Tata for now,

WitchySkies


	4. Chapter Four: “There’s No Rest For a Kunoichi”

**Chapter Four: “There’s No Rest For a Kunoichi”**

Sakura: “The best part of running away was that I didn’t feel so broken anymore. My life was supposed to be a peaceful after story. I should have left the country!”  
—Facing Inner Demons Isn’t Just About Fighting Monsters **“Not all families are happy, but I would rather those memories stay as sad beer stories to moan about to other sad drunks.”**

**Naruto: Cheers to that! *Exposed as Sad Drunk #2***

**Kei: I just wanted to feel powerful until you guys ruined everything. Cheers, life is unfair!**

**Sakura and Naruto: … Get the fuck out of here!! *Puts Kei back into coma***

**Itachi: *grocery shopping in Tokyo* *Reads off mom’s shopping list* Well, well. I can’t wait to get dinner with my happy and psychotic family~**

**Sakura and Naruto: I…I can’t say anything bad. *Sniffle* Itachiiiii! Live strong! And happy! Forget about Konoha!**

**Author: Yo. Stop breaking the 4th wall.**

**Meanwhile, lurking in the dark of Tokyo, Sasuke glares: I still hate everyone.**

**Sakura: Oh no. Not again. *Holds face in hands* How is he the same?!**

**Naruto: Hey, at least I don’t with sleep with him. You’re just attracted to bad boys. Typical pink-headed —**

**Sakura: *Cracks knuckles* You dissing my hair?**

**Naruto: Oh no. I love your hair. *Shuts mouth and runs to another bar* Imma be bar hopping!**

**Author and Kei’s Spirit in Limbo: Get back to the story!**

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Sakura stepped through the doors of the care home with cold hands. It was a reaction to everytime she saw her mother. Her body felt heavy, her palms sweated and she felt a chill down her back like a bad omen that never went away. From as far back as she could remember, she felt hollow in her presence. It wasn’t fear. That died when her hits stopped hurting as much. It was depression, but that wasn’t all she felt. If she had to pick one way to describe how her mother made her felt…

She felt ill. Being near her mother made her feel sick. Whether that was from the years of hatred or the trauma from finding her father a husk on the floor. She was never close to either of them, but she liked to think her dad loved her at least a little bit since he still fed her. 

Yeah. Visiting her mother was a fiasco. The only good thing about her childhood was that they fed her and took her out sometimes when they weren’t having a bad day. Joy. Super fun. This was shy she wanted to leave her past behind, no matter how strong she wanted to be, her body remembered the emotions and her mind soon followed. She hated the fact that she still couldn’t control herself completely. She still wasn’t strong enough.

Sakura sighed as the receptionist greeted her and she put on her best fake smile. It took years to fix her face like this, but now it looked natural. “Hello,” she said. “I’m here to see my mother. She’s Keiko Haruno.”

“Hello. Keiko, you said? Okay, please sign in while I look up her information. If you leave an ID…” The friendly receptionist typed as she talked with a professional smile.

“Of course.” Sakura placed the ID on the counter and filled in the sheet on the couter before she looked around. It was still the same as she remembered when she dropped mother off. Clean, bare and smelled like a sterile hospital room with the odd tacky ornaments on the counter top. The room was way too bright. She wondered if other visitors felt the same she did when they came through here. The welcoming entrance just looked like a shallow friendly face that hid the troubling histories of its residents. But then she was biased.

“Thank you.” The room echoed with the taps of the pale receptionist’s thin fingers on the keyboard. Tap tap. “Room 113. It will be on your right miss….Sakura.” She glanced at the ID and sign in before handing the card back. “Great. Your mother will be sure happy to see you.” With an innocent smile, she gestured down the hall. “Let me know if you need anything.” Then she went back to typing away.

Sakura nodded and started to walk down the hall. “Thank you.” Once she left the reception area, her shoulders dropped as she walked. It wasn’t far, but every step down that empty hall seemed to echo and the closer she got to the door, the narrower the hallway felt. She cleared her throat before clenching and opening her fists repeatedly to work out her stiff fingers. Unlike the oblivious receptionist who was speedily typing away happily, she felt like a walking statue heading towards hell. Her heart beat picked up as her hands slightly trembled. She couldn’t control it no matter how many deep breaths she took. The memories were still too fresh.

 _Tch. I was hoping I had longer than one measly year before I had to face her again._ She needed more time to forget before she could forgive. If she ever did. She used to say it all the time — I forgive — because she read forgiveness was the only release to true freedom, but she still remembered everything as fresh as it was yesterday…and she couldn’t control her emotions yet. 

It was a hot mess. 

Exactly how was she supposed to convince her mother to reveal their possibly super secret clan knowledge without getting triggered or attacked? She was bad before, but now she lost her mind. Maybe she should just go back to Naruto and investigate his family first. Maybe his clan would have some cool memory retriever and —

She stopped her train of thought and scolded herself for her cowardice: This was chakra not magic from Hogwarts, Sakura. There was only one way to get her mother to tell her what she needs to know. But she hoped she didn’t need to use it. In the worst case scenario, maybe she would use that secret. Maybe her mother would be nice this time? Or maybe after a year of no visits, she’d learn to value her only child?

Ha.

She shook her head and just tried to clear her mind before she found herself in front of room 113. The door was open, but she hid just out of sight and she could read the door number from the side. Just like that, she was here. Forget it, it was too late to turn back. With a grimace, she imagined Naruto’s face and took one last deep breath. She closed her eyes.

In.

Out.

Sakura opened her eyes as she forced her clenched fists to relax. Then with great determination, she took her first step into the room. 

“Hello, Mother.” She bowed slightly. “It’s been a while.”

Looking back at her, brown eyes tinged with red widened. Her body was thin, her silver hair looked matted and her lips chewed on. Dressed in a simple white dress, she seemed pitiful in her bed, but as soon as she saw Sakura, that frail woman seemed to have aged 20 years shook violently as familiar madness swam in her bright eyes.

“Sakuuuuraaa!!” She shrieked and Sakura had to cover her ears. “I’ll tear your hair out!” Her coarse voice thundered as she reached out a trembling hand with the intent to grab. When she couldn’t reach her, she yelled out profanities that didn’t match with her mother’s gentle elderly image.

With cold eyes, Sakura watched as her mother could barely move up from the bed let alone grab her. The worst case scenario happened — Tch. Without any other option, she had to grab her mother’s attention. She had to reveal the secret if Naruto and her were to get any real leads. She didn’t know about Naruto’s history, but she knew her mother was involved with this world of chakra. It explained so much. But that woman would never cooperate peacefully. There was only thing that would get her mother to listen to her. She didn’t want to resort to this, but now there was no choice. “Yes. I’m sure you miss having pink hair, Mother. But I’m here on business.” She could already imagine the care-takers running here so she got straight to the point before she got kicked out. 

With a deep breath, she asked, “Don’t you want to know where father’s treasure is?”

As soon as the words left her lips, the screaming stopped. In a 180, the crazy old woman expression disappeared and cold, calculating eyes emerged. The atmosphere turned frosty as the frail woman narrowed her eyes at her only child with a sneer, “Conniving little brat, so you aren’t going to play stupid this time?”

Suddenly, a care-taker burst into the room and said with a worried face, “Mrs. Haruno?! I heard screaming. Are you alright?” She glanced between the calm mother and daughter in confusion. 

“Yes, Rin. We’re fine. I apologize, I’ve had an episode, but it’s truly fine for now. If you could give us a moment, please? I need to talk to my daughter.” She smiled. “I miss her so much.”

“O-oh, alright. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Please close the door on your way out. It’s a private family matter.”

“Yes. I’ll check in on you later on, okay, Mrs. Haruno?”

“Thank you.” The Haruno ladies watched as the door closed.

Sakura pulled her lip back. “So that’s how you explain your outbursts. Episodes? Oh, the poor old woman.”

“Shut up, brat.” Her mother sneered. “Talk. Your father hid that treasure since the day we married. It was the only reason I married him as you know so I deserve to know the truth.”

“I thought it was a one night stand. Your story changed a dozen times, but in all of them you initiated the one night stand.”

“You wouldn’t understand how important the treasure is. Now spit it out. I’m sure you need information from me or you would never return here.”

Sakura gritted her teeth. There were so many things to ask on this rare occassion, but before anything else, she had to know. “There are a couple things, but first things first. I thought about it for a long time, but nothing added up. Then I realized something. You’d do anything for that stupid treasure and you almost got it. But you pretended to go crazy. Why?” That was the biggest mystery — not father’s strange death, nor her mother’s assumed madness. No. The mystery that haunted her was..“Why did you kill father?”

Her mother grinned as malice formed in her eyes and the frail, gentle elder’s face morphed into that of an evil witch. “Fufu, so the little bitch caught on. Yes, I killed him, but that wasn’t what made him into a husk. And you know why, don’t you, little weak Sakura? That little treasure your father gave you must have reacted at some point. You saw it, I’m sure. You felt the energy your father poured in with his death. Don’t lie to me. You have no idea how important that is to me.“ 

Brown eyes turned red as her mother’s smile widened. Then for the first time, Sakura could sense the chakra in her mother’s body. “Oh? You recognize the change in energy? Fufu. It seems you have discovered chakra. Poor dear.”

With her palm faced outward, her mother threw her hand towards her and black chakra burst out of her fingers, wrapping around Sakura’s body like snakes and tightening around her. “Now, dear daughter of mine, where is your father’s treasure?”

Sakura scoffed. “And that’s my other requirement.” She ignored the chakra binding her as she looked down on her mother. “Since you know about chakra, tell me. How did you learn about it and why did you never tell me about chakra and shinobi?” To raise the chances for the truth to come out, she added, “There are other shinobi after the treasure. If you don’t tell me, they’ll take it instead and there goes your precious treasure. Mother.” 

Green eyes flared against brown as the Harunos faced each other over the family secret. 

Naruto may have worried about dragging her in, but Sakura was sucked into the world of shinobi from day one. She just never knew much about it. But she knew one thing — her family already killed for the power that shinobi had and the treasure was one of the most powerful skills. Her family was far from innocent and now she had to come back and face their blood stained legacy dripping evil. But how could she lie to her mother without getting caught and still get the info she needed?

If her mother ever knew where the treasure hid, she’d kill her in a second.

………………………………..

………………………………..

In Fukuoka Hospital, a certain security guard laid in the morgue bed while two men stood at the bedside with a frown. 

“…So Kei was found dead under the stairs. There were no fatal stab wounds. It seems to be a one hit…um. A strong punch. It was an instant death.”

The taller one seethed, “Let me understand. Not only did the kyuubi manage to escape an entire town swarming with shinobi, but he also managed to take out the new recruit in line for management despite being starved and exhausted with little chakra left? Then that un-trained jinchuurki took down a fully trained shinobi in a matter of minutes when he could barely run away. Finally, he was smart enough to get rid of footage, strong enough to destroy the floor and cunning enough to frame drug dealers in an apartment he’s never visited before.” 

The already chilly morgue seemed to go down ten degrees and the trembling companion started shaking violently. He bowed deeply and said, “Y-Yes, sir.”

Without a word, the man struck the bowing man across the face and he fell to the ground. WHAM! “Dimwit. He had help. Go and investigate every shinobi on duty and resident of that apartment. Be discreet. The Kaguya finally get a jinchuuriki. A born jinchuuriki. A vessel born with a fox demon is rare. No demon has been seen in the public in ages.” Heavy pressure came down and the fallen shinobi shook harder.

The man watched until tears leaked from the weaker man’s eyes and he let up his chakra pressure. He licked his lips with pleasure as the subordinate cried. “Go.”

“Yes, sir!” He scampered away in a heartbeat.

Looking back at the corpse, the man smiled. “Good for you. You’re dead. I don’t get to punish you for losing our prized demon.” 

Ohhh. How he wanted to ‘play’ with the demon container. How much torture could he take? He was getting excited thinking about. 

“Naruto Uzumaki. The Kaguya Clan will never let you go. I vow on the name of our goddess.”

……………………………

……………………………..

Meanwhile, an oblivious yet determined blonde man sat bored in the car. “Achoo!”

Since he had nothing to do, he thought about Kei and how he got knocked out in one punch. That man was a professional. Cocky, but better at chakra control than a lot of the patrollers unless that was planned. He couldn’t even sense him! 

Naruto reviewed how the battle went when he fought versus when Sakura fought the creepy guard. He recalled how the chakra burst just before Sakura punched him…but it disappeared completely as soon as Sakura landed her hit. With her monstrous strength, he didn’t know how Kei survived. 

…But did he really? If a shinobi lost chakra, did they still lived? 

He remembered being exhausted out on the streets and how he almost ran out of that special energy called chakra. Every breath became slower, every muscle ached. He felt on the verge of death as he barely managed to hold off Kei for a brief moment. 

He couldn’t confirm it yet, but if he ran out of chakra then…he would have died. He had a strong feeling about that. So didn’t that meant Kei also —

Suddenly a burst of strong chakra erupted from the carehome. It wasn’t like Sakura’s feel…it felt…sinister. He couldn’t explain it, but the chakra sensations had different feelings to them. He needed to learn more!

He ran out of the car and tried to sense where the chakra came from. If it were an enemy shinobi, he couldn’t just burst in the home and place the staff in danger. So he ran outside the building until he got closer to the source of the spike. He ran quickly and silently until he reached a window. Here!

Peering in from the corner, Naruto found Sakura captured by black strings of chakra with some evil old lady smiling at her. Was this her mother?! He was about to crash through the window when he caught Sakura’s gaze. She frowned heavily and he stopped moving. His eyes darted between the trapped Sakura and the evil lady. He swore. That was right — they still needed info! But what if Sakura gets hurt? Shit!

What the hell could he do?!

………………………………

………………………………

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**AUTHOR NOTE:**

Anhyeong Haseyo!

Another chap! Hope you enjoyed this chap and please review :)

Felt a bit dark so venting in this chap lol Fr, lots of reflections to do in 2021. 

On other hand, I have donuts. That’s gotta count for something. And I have Youtube. Viva la 21rst century.

I hope everyone is safe and that things get better this year. 

Ja mata ne,

WitchySkies

P.S. Manalorian resumes 2022 waaaah. At least neverland season 2 is supposed to come out.

P.S.S. I won’t keep Sasuke exactly the same as he was, but he aint cheery naruto. The clan is alive but of course got issues and Itachi might have unconsciously grown since his last life. I know it’s his charm to be loyal and have his code, but god damn it, live for yourself too! Dont give up on your future for the greater good! (I’m thinking like a Sasuke haha). I…I know I said this is SasuSaku, but god…Itachi….Ughhhhh….Fine I’ll try to get cannon, but…my ItaSaku fangirl couple….what do I do? Stop. You already decided the couple. Don’t be greedy…

*CHUGS MEAD* Can I pretend to be Itachi’s GF — *Gets smacked by fandom* *Mead falls all over floor* 

Fandom: It’s bad enough it’s not a SakuXIta this time. Don’t get greedy author!

“Tch.”


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